>Where should I start? >Where should I start? >Where

>>78877197
fuck off.

>>78877197
sure, now let me just really all 500 other issues afterrwards

It isn't, people just spread the misinformation that it is. Some people have this bizarre idea that you HAVE to read every single issue of a run or you'll be lost

op is right
i wish there were more self-contained single issues (with all of them being connected in some way optional)
but its the same deal with movies, sequels are less risky than brand new stories so they keep chugging the same things, it is a business after all.

>>78877197
>>Where should I start?
People wouldn't ask these questions here if /co/ would just tell them to fuck off and use google once in awhile.

Because people think of "Marvel and DC" when they think of "comics", even though they shouldn't.

Marvel and DC make people think that comics are complicated, even though every non-Marvel/non-DC publisher is much easier to "get into" than either of the Big Two.

>>78877555
Yeah, it really sucks that nobody ever invented the OGN so it's impossible for us to know what that is or how to find any.

>5 Ant-Man #1 in 2015
>b-but muh Last Days was an one shot
>b-but muh Annual

>>78877197
Because of constant renumberings. There is no "starting point" anymore.

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>>78877598

I always use this analogy to explain comics to my friends.

Marvel/DC is like pro wrestling.
All other comics are like TV series.

Comics are actually very easy to get into. Start from volume 1 and continue until the story ends. It's as easy as starting from Season 1 of a TV series.

Marvel and DC are the ones that have this huge history with an infinite never ending story but in reality, it's just a bunch of the same crap over and over. It's like pro wrestling. You wouldn't watch every single wrestling match since the beginning of time. You just jump in and enjoy watching good guys fight bad guys.

It's not.

Just pick up a fucking comic and start reading.

You know...even when I was getting into comics, I would just pick up random issues, and it usually was easy to get what's going on. I hate how spoonfed people need to be these days. "Who's this character that suddenly appeared?! I'm so confused now!"

>>78877983
>Because of constant renumberings

I wonder how confusing that was for new Marvel readers

> little girl wants her new issue of Squirrel Girl
> well the new issue is #1
> No no, I already have #1

>>78878163
>I hate how spoonfed people need to be these days. "Who's this character that suddenly appeared?! I'm so confused now!"

It's just like watching a tv show/movie with friends and they're on their phones the whole time

Because when a series has 60 years and literally dozens of reboots, spinoffs, prequels, authors, retcons, and general ambiguity in the due process of things, it can be very hard for people to figure out where to start. You can argue for things like one-offs and indie comics but people inheriently gravitate towards the most popular options under the guise that if it's popular then it MUST be good, only to get deterred when facing a long list of publications. Comics aren't like movies, you can't just grab the first film in a series off a shelf and dedicate 3 hours tops to it before you say you like like it and this can deter the average casual reader.

Also: Constant renumberings.

>>78877197
The beginning of any story arc. 80% of the time anything you need to know will be explained in the story, another 15% of the time you can get by just fine without knowing it, and for the last 5% Google it or ask people like us online. I got into comics by going to the library and grabbing trades at random until I had read everything they had.

>>78878194

If I had a daughter, I would pretend like single issues didn't even exist. I would just buy her trades and tell her she can read them in any order she wants.

>>78877197
the answer to 'where should I start' is always either 'X storyline' or 'Y writer's run'. this isn't difficult.

>>78878194
>B-b-but relaunching for a new #1 at the drop of a hat isn't confusing for new readers at all!

>>78878350

>what's a 'run'?
>but what about all the stuff that came before?
>I was just reading the trades like you told me and I guess the universe was destroyed in some other series I didn't read? How come Ultra Dude is now a black lesbian in a wheelchair ?

My LCS is closing and moving to a different city next month. I have no plans to follow them. I saw it as a chance to declare I would never buy a floppy ever again.

>>78877197
>Hi, I was wondering if you had Captain America #1.
>Which one?
>The first issue.
>This year's or last year's.
>The first issue. I was told to get issue one and it would be a great jumping on point.
>I'd love to help you, but there have been four Captain America #1s in the past five years.

>>78877197

No what's even more inaccessible? Having a conversation with other comic fans. You could literally put 30 Marvel/DC fans into a single room and they probably chose different titles within the universe. It's nothing like watching the same TV show or movie and chatting about it the next day.

>>78877197
About half of it is one genre, and a genre which is considered beneath the general public outside of movies.

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>>78878572

>Never gives any other comics a chance because The Big Two traumatized them for life

>>78877551
>Some people
They're called /a/utists

>>78877197
It's fucking not. Only dipshit retards who can't tie their shoes ask where they should start. You pick up a book that looks good to you, and you read it. Wow. So fucking hard.

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>>78879201
>spoken like a true pleb

i hope you enjoy getting shoved into the middle of a run with that kind of care-free attitude buddy

>>78878258
Oh my GOD, that is the worst. It's like those Let's Players who talk over the game and don't hear the instructions and go "How was I supposed to know that?! This is such bullshit!"

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>I'm a fan of Spider-Man where should I start?

I would recommend starting with Ultimate Spider-Man.

>B-but that's not "Amazing" right? It's like not even canon. I want to read the REAL Spider-Man book.

Oh okay, well... in that case I'd recommend "Kraven's Last Hunt"

>Whoa whoa, but that's really random. I don't even know much about that bad guy. Plus, why does it say on the back that this contains issues: Web of Spider-Man #31-32, The Amazing Spider-Man #293-294, and The Spectacular Spider-Man #131-132. It's right in the middle of the story. I would like to start something from the beginning.

Oh maybe you'd like to check out Amazing Spider-Man #1 from the very beginning. It started in 1963.

>Cool, yeah, that sounds like what I want. How long is this series anyway?

Well, it lasted like 700 issues.

>Daaaang, well, luckily, I have 1,000,000 dollars to spend because I'm committed to trying this comic stuff out!

Great!

>Okay, so if I read all 700 issues, that's the entire Spider-Man story right?

Well, no... It kinda intertwines with all the other Spidey titles...

>FUCK YOU MAN!!! Why is there so many different Spider-Man titles.

Ok okay, calm down... How about this. You can start from The NEW Amazing Spider-Man #1! It started in 2014... It's a great jumping on point!

>Cool! Well, there you go. How many issues until I'm all caught up with the current issue?

Well, it actually only lasted like 14 issues. There was a new #1 this year in 2015. Maybe another next year.

>UGH!!! fine just give me the latest #1.

Okay, here you go. That'll be 6 dollars.

>Okay, thanks for the help.
>Okay, I just read it in 10 minutes and the story is nothing like Spider-Man. He's riding around in a batmobile for some reason and has this purple nigger as a partner. What is all this crap man? I LIKE THE MOVIES WAY MORE THAN THIS SHIT.

>>78879249
where'd you find that pic of me?

>>78879249
>>78879673
>>>/soc/

>>78877197

Comics covers should always tell you what part of the current story they are. Like Darkseid War is doing or Throne of Atlantis. That would make it a little easier to jump in

>>78878429

It isn't when it's spread out over at least 10 years. Doing it almost every year is long term suicide

>>78879638
For real though why were there so many spider books. Why did Web of and Spectacular need to exist?

>>78879958

To scam people into buying more books because they have fallen in love with the character.

>>78878506
>what's a 'run'?
The time a writer spent on a book.
>but what about all the stuff that came before?
Some of it is good, some is bad. Some happened some didn't. None of that matters right now.
>I was just reading the trades like you told me and I guess the universe was destroyed in some other series I didn't read? How come Ultra Dude is now a black lesbian in a wheelchair ?
That's a thing that happens sometimes. All you need to know is things changed. Just keep reading if you still like it, find something else if you don't.

>>78879201
>I recommend this run since it's pretty easy to get into
>alright thanks

Wow so fucking hard. It's people like you that give comic fans a bad name. If people have an interest, nurture it and help out. Best case you get someone who you can talk to and enjoy it with, worst case they don't and you never speak to them about it or find something else they would like.

>>78879638

And /co/ doesn't understand why comics sell like shit. I haven't read Marvel in years, I picked up Spider-Man saw him in a car and immediately put it back on the rack

I got into comics in 2013 and I found it fairly easy. Watching cartoons that filled me in on more than just the broad strokes that the movies covered for basically all my life probably helped a lot. As did having a basic knowledge of how it all worked from already being here and seeing threads.

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>>78879835
At this point A list books probably need to do this.
Comics are written for trade the majority of the time anyway nowadays and it would make writers plan their shit out better. cough Lobdell cough

Even if it gets interrupted for a crossover tie in, the cover would change to the name of the crossover event and that would limit confusion.

Parker's last arc on Aquaman did it real good. Had the name of the arc AND the part number in addition to the issue number.

>>78881500
You dropped it in 1973?